Research Apprenticeships 2016

Research Apprenticeship (200 pts). Students contribute as collaborative team members to one of the following research projects, where they will participate in data analysis and report writing tasks. As team members, students use project management software to identify specific tasks and collaborate with a partner to complete the tasks. They write a report about their work.

FRANCESCA & CYNTHIA. Mind Over Media: Are You More Powerful than Propaganda?What are the most polarizing examples of contemporary propaganda on the website? How do people come to engage in “strong sense” critical thinking to appreciate how some forms of propaganda that they find “harmful” others might see as “beneficial”? Tasks may include: Describe examples of propaganda that evoke the widest diversity of opinions. Analyze comment threads to understand different interpretive frames at work. In a written report, examine the origins of the concept, “strong sense” critical thinking in relation to propaganda education.

ISABELLE, ANNABELLE & TORI. Celebrity Attachment and Girls. Review data collected by the Media Education Lab on girls’ desire for fame, their level of celebrity attachment, and their attachment to musicians and Internet celebrities. What are the differences between girls who do not have a favorite celebrity and those who do? Develop table tables and write a report that contextualizes research findings in relation to 3 key works from the scholarly literature.

CHRISTINE AND GREGG: AT&T Policy & Business Model re: High Speed Internet. Broadband service in rural areas is failing to keep pace with needs for current services, according to the 2015 Broadband Progress Report adopted today by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). When AT&T bought Bell South in 2006, the merger was approved because they promised to bring fast broadband to all their customers. How are they doing with that goal? What factors are interfering with their success? Learn more about ATT’s transformation from a telecom/pay TV provider to an Internet service provider to understand the regulatory and public policy issues behind their high speed Internet service that might have led them to produce the “Keep Calm Your Internet’s On” campaign. Tasks include: Learn about network neutrality and gather information about the quality of AT&T’s Internet services, especially in rural areas that still use copper wire (not fiber). Examine the economic and political context for data caps and other ways of undermining net neutrality. Contextualize the AT&T ad by writing a report that considers the FCC’s interest in increasing speed of service and ATT’s business and communication strategies.

5. SAM AND NANI. Digital Literacy & Learning What is the impact of the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy on educators who aim to integrate digital literacy practices into their K-12 or college curriculum? Tasks include: Review prior research on this program, then read and code a sample of participant comments from 2016 concerning the definition of digital literacy. Analyze quantitative data to identify themes, then summarize findings in a short written report.